Chris
Planet Infowars
Those of you under the age of thirty may be surprised to learn that the 1970′s were the Golden Age of technology. While modern conveniences such as fax machines, the internet, personal computers and cell phones were not yet available to the public, the Seventies were a cornucopia of quality analog technology. It was an era of high fidelity audio systems (the 8-track tape player notwithstanding), color televisions with stereo, solid-state portable radios with FM, CB and ham radio and even touch-tone phones. While this may not sound particularly impressive to those born in the digital age, the Seventies were a time when people, for the most part, could stay connected with family, friends and the world without the all-seeing eye of Big Brother watching their every move.
Can you imagine such a thing in today’s digitally-connected world? Can you imagine talking on the phone without the fear of having your conversation recorded, parsed and analyzed? Can you imagine driving your car without the fear of being tracked by OnStar or even your own cell phone? Can you imagine sending a message to a friend without the fear of it being forwarded to a government database for key-word analysis? Can you imagine the peace-of-mind in knowing that an armed predator drone is not flying over your house and peering into your windows?
While we can’t turn back the hands of time and completely shield our personal lives from Big Brother, we can take some steps to minimize his intrusions by going back to a simpler time. Such a move would require sacrifice, the level of which I doubt many would be willing to make, but for those of you still reading I’ll list a few things that you can do to enhance your personal privacy.
1) Reduce your internet usage to an absolute minimum. This is probably the most difficult thing you could ask of a person living in the digital age (and I am quite aware of my own hypocrisy as I type this sentence on my internet-connected laptop). Instead of sending your mom an email why not write her a letter instead? She’ll appreciate it much more. Get in the habit of using pen and paper instead of reaching for the laptop. And while you’re at it, why not sell that internet-connected XBox 360 and buy a quality shortwave radio?
2) Speaking of radios, why not listen to your favorite radio programs on an actual radio instead of streaming it over the internet? Big Brother can’t track your radio usage. Alex Jones and many other radio talk show hosts broadcast on the AM band as well as the shortwave band. The advantage of the shortwave band is that you can listen to stations from around the world. I often listen to Alex Jones in the evening on my portable shortwave radio. The signal comes in loud and clear even though I’m in New England and the program is broadcast from Nashville, TN. Another option is XM Radio. With XM you can listen to a particular radio program from coast to coast without losing the signal. And it’s just like a regular radio except for the fact that it receives signals from a satellite instead of a radio tower. It does come with a monthly fee but is completely private. XM offers an online version of their service as well but obviously your listening patterns could be tracked.
Read the rest of Chris’s suggestions for increasing your personal privacy and reducing your impact on Big Brother’s radar on the Planet Infowars social network.